GBM Blog Archive: March 2014

Two New York City public students received the Wangari Maathai Award for Civic Participation in Sustainability. The $10,000 cash award, intended to be used for college, is funded by the Municipal Art Society and the Rockefeller Foundation and given to two exceptional NYC public high school seniors who demonsrate academic and extracurricular commitment to environmental stewardship with the urban context.

‘Patience builds’; these were the words of Mwalimu Lawerance Njuguna, a retired teacher for 30 years. He has trained adults for over 17 years at his farm, in Kiambu County. As we entered his ¼ hectare land brought in 1967 compound in Wagige village.

In spite of numerous challenges faced by women worldwide and particularly in Africa, we must remember and celebrate numerous positive changes that happen on a daily basis and are life-changing for many women and families. As we work for social justice and for women and girls' rights, we take stock of those achievements and let women share their experiences and give others hope that change is possible and start within themselves. And those examples are not only experienced by women but also by men who believe in gender equality and gender equity, men who dedicate much time engaging other men in behavioural change to put an end to violence against women.

As we marked the 2014 Wangari Maathai Day and its theme, Youth Healing the Earth: Environment. Education, Empowerment, we pay tribute to Wangari Maathai. Her rich legacy as a dedicated environmentalist, human rights activist and agent of change is an excellent basis to celebrate the energy, enthusiasm and dedication that youth bring to protecting our environment, including their work for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.